Since coming to Siraha, I've quite consciously taken up gardening. This is something I've always loved; when I owned my former houses I would always work in the garden. In my first and second homes when I was married, I would usually be directed by others. But when I had my own home after getting divorced, I planted a crazy garden, something which represented me. I outlined a large flower on my front lawn and then filled it in with flowers and just planted more and more; similar to my home with lots of posters, my garden reflected my somewhat unorthodox style. As my mom can't do much anymore in terms of gardening whenever I visit my parents I help in their very organized flower garden. (I even planted Twinkies, maybe some five years ago; they haven't sprouted yet but the next time I go to visit I should see if they are still there. I wonder if they are still yellow and if the cream filling is still in the center).
When I first came to Siraha I brought sunflower seeds given to me by my son and threw them in the ground. Although I didn't properly space them out, of course they sprouted. I started composting all of my fruit and vegetable waste and before I knew it I also had mango trees growing; I'll probably never see the fruit but never-the-less. Once my sunflower seeds sprouted I took the seeds from the flowers, dried them out, enlarged my garden and again threw them into the ground; they've now sprouted and I can see another generation of sunflowers. This next time I'll throw the seeds all over the Hospital grounds. I found some okra seeds and threw them into the ground and they've sprouted, also, beans are starting to grow, potatoes, onions and garlic. Recently I've again doubled the size of my garden and am now growing radishes, spinach, saag, pumpkins and something else which I've forgotten. With the help of some children I actually planted the seeds in rows. At least I tried to be organized. The children asked for some of the sunflower plants, which I gave to them, and now this gift from my son, will start to grow throughout the village.
Gardening helps me to relax, to forget about my very challenging life. In some sense, since I haven't been able to play/coach basketball (no courts in the area) gardening has taken its place. (A sign of age?) When i used to play I would only focus on basketball and forget everything else. My garden needs focus and lots of care if the seeds are to grow to maturity. There is constant weeding, watering and nurturing that is necessary. I love the fact that I now have fresh okra; but this has been more about the experience of growing which has kept me very engaged.
My garden is an analogy for my job which also needs constant watering, weeding and nurturing. I can't really take my focus away from my job otherwise it will slip away and any progress will be for naught. My garden is my job and my job is my garden. They both keep me alive, thinking, planning, watering, weeding and enjoying the fruits (well actually mainly vegetables) of my labor.
In Siraha, my garden seems very natural. All around the Hospital people are growing rice, sugar cane, tobacco, potatoes, okra, beans, eggplant, greens and numerous other crops. Most people have kitchen gardens. At the Haat Bazaars (farmers' markets) one can find only locally produced vegetables and fruits from other parts of Nepal, and possibly India. When I lived in the US the food movement message was to eat items grown within a certain radius from where one lived and not trucked/flown in items grown from other parts of the world or the US, thereby using an inordinate amount of energy to get to a kitchen table.
I'm living a somewhat "small is beautiful" low tech life, composting, with little waste, washing my clothes in a bucket and hanging them on the roof to dry, etc. But due to inadequate power supplies we do have to use a generator quite a bit and during the summer I did use a/c. I do fly to get to the US and enjoy frozen bananas and ice cubes. But I've used the same gas cylinder for six months. OK so I'm far from perfect but I am living this life without too much effort. Certainly much lower tech then when I lived in the US but yet I do have modern conveniences, i.e. internet (sometimes), computer, current movies and music, etc. Maybe my life is more of a middle way.
Just imagine if everyone had their own garden growing vegetables and fruits all year round and in green houses, if necessary. Community gardens seem to make a lot of sense whether in the field, on rooftops, etc. At my job we are attempting to grow vegetables through department plots which will supply our restaurant. Our Medical Director has been growing for some time on his own. However now we're hoping to spread this idea to all staff. It's an interesting experiment in team building, but is more about following what happens in the community and applying it to our hospital. This is about taking the idea of Kaiser-Permanente Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) in the States, where they provide space for weekly farmers' markets on their property not only creating a healthier environment for people who are sick, as well as their families, enabling access to good food, but also buying from the farmers and serving in patients. This is all about ensuring a healthy local economy.
I'm not really stating anything new, we all innately know that there is more that we must do to save this planet, but due to our lifestyles (selfishness) we just don't. Fortunately I've been put into a situation where I can do a little bit more to lower my own footprint. My garden keeps me mentally healthy and the few vegetables, grown naturally, will nurture my body and maybe that's enough.
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